re: Openwave (OPWV)
<< Can I ask some bonehead questions here >>
You are likely to get a bonehead answer. <g>
<< Listwin implied that brew and java are applications that run on top of WAP >>
I belive that WAP is indeed the bearer protocol for both but someone may care to comment.
<< and therefore vz adopting brew meant very little in terms of opwv. (in the call). >>
I wondered about that when I read Mike at Mobile Comm's "Winners and Losers" comments about "Verizon's adoption of Qualcomm's BREW is another painful snub."
Verizon implemented Openwave's WAP server over two years ago and they finally have the kinks out of OTA provisioning using it.
<< He then went on to use an analogy that opwv has a business model similar to BEA/weblogic. >>
Perhaps. I've been trying to get a handle on Openwave's business model dating back to when Unwired Planet IPO'd as Phone.com My inability to grasp it is the reason I fortunately have not been left holding what is now almost a penny stock.
I commented elsewhere that last Friday I was going to invest some chump change in a starter position in OPWV and in fact placed a GTC limit buy at below Friday's market close. I subsequently cancelled the order after a little digging. I simply am not comfortable with Openwave and that discomfort relates back to a lack of understanding of their business model but also it has been many years since I have held any company that was not profitable at that time of purchase. I'm a LTB&H type and I'm candidly not sure Openwave is going to be around for the long haul.
In response to my comment elsewhere a poster replied back:
I pulled up the yahoo financials cash flow statement and one thing that looks worth some research before a purchase decision is the "Sale Purchase Of Stock" line item, as it is almost one half of the cash flow deficit.
biz.yahoo.com
Also on the balance sheet the "Cash And Cash Equivalents" section looks to be worth some analysis as it declined significantly.
biz.yahoo.com
<< What does this mean, that brew doesn't run on top of wap- or that qualcomm is providing the application server components that they *could* get from opwv? >>
I honestly don't know the answer to that.
<< If weblogic is their model I'm a little concerned because I believe bea will be cannibalized by Oracle. >>
I'll let others comment on that.
<< Still, every application developer these days knows they have to use an app server from somebody and beas is the leader. I'm not sure this wireless market is quite there... is this "platform" concept accepted by the development community do you know? >>
I think the "platform" concept is accepted by the carriers and as a consequence has to be accepted by the development community.
As you probably are aware, one of Phone.com's (Openwave's) competitors in WAP server space was Nokia, and another Ericsson, although Openwave appeared to be the dominant player (I think that may have changed).
Both Nokia and Ericsson are in the platform business, branching out from traditional wireless network elements like MSC's and BSS's to Delivery Platforms and Mobile Messaging Centers where they are kicking the butt of the traditional Messaging Center providers.
In addition BEA Systems has been integrating, reselling and distributing the Nokia WAP Server with the BEA E-Commerce Transaction Platform for some time. "The integrated offering, is called BEA WebLogic and the 'M-Commerce Solution', includes the Nokia WAP Server, the BEA WebLogic application and commerce servers, and targeted services "that extend traditional legacy and Internet applications into the hands of mobile business users, who require sophisticated capabilities to perform m-commerce transactions over the wireless Web".
Going one step further, you may have noticed yesterday that Nokia and IBM announced an agreement on digital content delivery for mobile applications and services.
"Combining their expertise, Nokia and IBM will provide wireless operators and service providers with a complete solution for content management and delivery. According to the agreement, IBM will market Nokia’s delivery server software for mobile content downloading. The companies have also agreed to collaborate on secure content delivery solutions, including digital rights management, according to industry-wide open standards and specifications. The solution combines the Nokia Delivery Server with IBM Digital Media Factory framework and enables service providers to offer exciting new content services for mobile users, such as Java based mobile games, polyphonic MIDI ring tones, digital images, graphics, screen savers and icons. The services built on the solution, called Digital Media for Mobile Devices (DM Mobile), will allow users to fully leverage the advanced features of mobile devices such as preview and seamless downloading of new content. The Nokia Delivery Server will become part of IBM’s Digital Media Factory framework, based on a number of IBM core products and business partners, which helps companies create, store, manage and distribute digital content across the digital media value chain. IBM Global Services will sell and support the resulting offering with consulting, installation, and integration. The Nokia Delivery Server software will also integrate with IBM’s Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE – pronounced “speed-ee”), an open standards based framework built on IBM’s WebSphere e-business infrastructure software designed to give wireline and wireless service providers the flexibility to introduce new revenue generating voice, text and Internet-based services to their customers faster, easier and at a lower cost. The Nokia Delivery Server is to be ported and made available for use on IBM Linux-based xSeries eServer systems. Finally, the combined IBM/Nokia Download Server solution will be supported and demonstrated by the IBM Network Integration Laboratory in La Gaude, France as a specific solution that is integrated with the IBM SPDE and Digital Media Factory frameworks."
It looks to me like Openwave has some stiff competition from some larger more established players.
That said, I'm not as familiar with Openwave as I should perhaps be, and I certainly don't want to discourage you or anyone else from further DD on them.
Best,
- Eric - |
